Fort Jackson is situated 32 nautical miles from the Gulf of Mexico, 22 miles from the lighthouse at the head of the passes, and 65 miles in a southeasterly direction from New Orleans. It is located in Section 50 of Township 20 South, Range 30 East, Southeastern District of Louisiana , on the west bank of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish. <br> Built in a regular star-shaped pentagon, the fort's walls were 25 feet above the water line of the wet ditch (moat) which completely surrounded it. These walls were constructed of red brick and were 20 feet thick. The gun foundations were reinforced with red and gray granite. Two curtains facing the river were casemated for 8 guns each. In the center of the fort there was a diagonal-shaped defensive barracks which was intended as a bomb-proof shelter accommodating 500 men. <br> Fort Jackson was born of necessity. Because of the proximity of Spain, sometimes friend, sometimes foe, many Louisianans felt the need for stronger fortifications to protect the lower Mississippi River delta. It was true that Fort St. Phillip, located on the east bank of the river, had repulsed the British fleet after a nine-day bombardment in 1815 and had prevented it from joining General Pakenham's land forces attacking New Orleans. But could this single fort protect the city and keep the river secure in the future? General Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans, in his report to Secretary of War J. C. Calhoun, strongly emphasized the need of additional fortifications to protect the mouth of the river from possible Spanish attack. It was largely because of General Jackson's recommendations that the U. S. Government began the construction of Fort Jackson in 1822.<br> Fort Jackson was not the first fortification to be constructed on the west bank of the river. Earthen and timber breast works dated back to the middle 1700's. Among the earliest references to fortifications at Plaquemines Bend is one dated 1746, when this site was recognized by Lenormant, French intendent commissary in Louisiana, as ideal for defenses. Sailing vessels, compelled to tack to negotiate the bend and sailing against a four mile current, would be an easy target for land batteries. Fort Jackson is on Louisiana SH-23 approximately 70 miles south of New Orleans.